Team Lakay has certainly had a rough year, and that includes former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon.

The 33-year-old Belingon came up short in his lone appearance inside the ONE Circle this year, falling to Brazilian thunderclap John “Hands of Stone” Lineker by knockout just last November.

Yet despite all that the world has been going through, Belingon feels he’s still in a good place in his life, even with his career hitting a slight stumbling block.

“2020 for me was still a good year, despite everything that happened. I still have a good career. Most importantly, my family welcomed our beautiful baby daughter to the world. She’s the best thing that happened to me. As for my fighting career, I’m looking to get back to the top in 2021,” said Belingon.

Belingon and wife Lee welcomed Kelsey Tuesday to the world last August, and the two loving parents have been preoccupied since in raising their baby girl. Belingon says he’s even more motivated to succeed in his career now, with his family growing.

“The Silencer” has his focus still firmly on the ultimate prize, and that’s to reinsert himself into the world title mix in his division.

“I just have to stay strong and stay healthy right now. That’s one of the toughest challenges with all the different restrictions and obstacles we now face in training. There are a lot of moving parts that have been affected. I just need to stay on top of it. I’m keeping the dream in sight,” said Belingon.

Looking forward to the next 12 months, Belingon has his finger on a handful of things he wants to accomplish, both in his career and in his own personal life.

“We’ll take the time we need to review our past fights and our past performances, so we can learn the lessons we need to learn to move forward. There are still a lot of holes in my game, and I want to fix them all. I can’t wait to go back to the gym and train hard. I want to be ready for whatever challenge I will potentially face next year,” said Belingon.

“My goal in 2021 is to erase the memory of 2020. My eyes are still on the bantamweight belt. That’s what I want, and that’s what I’m after. Aside from that, I just want to raise my daughter well and take care of her.”

The 33-year-old mixed martial arts veteran plans to spend some much-needed time with his family during the holidays, but is completely determined to hit the gym hard once it’s time to get back to work.

“I am very fortunate that my family and I have been safe from COVID-19. It’s been a blessing to stay in Baguio City where we can enjoy and experience nature. It’s one of the best places in the world to start a family. I want to spend good, quality time with them in the next few weeks,” said Belingon.

“Still, fans can expect a new and improved, much better Kevin Belingon next year. In my last fight, I didn’t feel like I was myself. I want to remind everyone what I am capable of. 2021 will be the year of The Silencer.”

ONE Championship returns with ONE: BIG BANG II, a previously recorded event for global broadcast on Friday, 11 December. In the main event, former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion and current #3-ranked contender Jonathan “The General” Haggerty of the United Kingdom takes on Taiki “Silent Sniper” Naito of Japan.

Watch ONE: BIG BANG II this Friday, 11 December on One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT). One Sports will air the event on a same-day delay at 9 p.m. PHT. Additionally, TV5 will air the event on a next-day delay at 11 p.m. PHT.